Soap dispenser



Aug. 13, 1935. e. VOORHIS SOAP DISPENSER Filed April 22, 1935 5Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Gordon l oor/z/s ATTORNEY 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 G.VOORHIS SOAP DISPENSER Filed April 22, 1933 Q. Q m

ATTORNEY Aug. l3, 1935.

mm Q Aug. 13, 1935. s. VOORHIS SOAP DISPENSER Filed April 22, 1935 I ZZ3 Sheets-Sheet 3 '45 z a Q? 5 Gordon INVENTOR ATTORN EY Patented Aug.13, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Standard Soap Pulverizer,

Inc., Rhinebeck,

N. Y., a corporation of New York Application April 22, 1933, Serial No.667,413

7 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus primarily designed for dispensingsoap of the type in which a rotary cutter is employed to shred the soapoff of the lower end of a cake and discharge it through an opening inthe bottom of the casing in a fine powder. In such apparatus the cake ofsoap inserted in a substantially vertically arranged casing is forceddownward by spring pressure or gravity or both upon the rotary cutter,and one of the principal objects of the present invention is to providea telltale device which I call a flag projecting beyond one side wall ofthe casing sufiiciently to be visible to the user standing in front ofthe casing and to the attendants, indicating the extent to which thecake of soap in the casing has been used up and any present orprospective need for the insertion of a new cake.

Another object of the invention is to provide a casing into which onlycakes of soap of a predetermined exterior conformation can be insertedin position for operation thereon, thereby enabling the vendor or lessorof the apparatus to make sure that only soap of the proper character andquality giving the best results in cooperation with the apparatus willbe used.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a moisture-proof casingwhich will protect the soap when the exterior of the apparatus oradjacent surfaces are being cleaned, as by a spray from a hose, and onewhich will prevent the cake of soap from jumping or chattering under theaction of the cutters and will ensure the complete or nearly completeconsumption of each cake, and also will not be acted on chemically bythe soap so as to produce unsightly stains or discolorations.

A special object of certain of the modifications of the invention shownis the production of a casing which is self-locking in closed positionafter the cake of soap has been inserted, thus saving the expense of theusual lock and key. Other objects of the invention will become obviousto those skilled in the art upon consideration of the detail descriptionof the various constructions and the drawings illustrating the same.

The best form of apparatus embodying my invention at present known tome, together with certain modifications thereof, is illustrated in theaccompanying two sheets of drawings in which Fig. 1 is a perspectiveview of a soap dispenser made of molded material, the door of the casingbeing open.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing the doorclosed.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line 3-3 of Fig.

2, and

Fig. 4 is a detail horizontal section through 5 the axis of the shaft 20of the meeting edges of the casing walls showing the journal bearing forshaft 20 molded therein.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section on line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a detail elevation of the exterior of one side of the casingshowing a. modified form of telltale or flag, and

Fig. 7 is a detail horizontal section on line l'! of Fig. 6, 15

Fig. 8 is a vertical section on line 8-8 of Fig. 9, and

Fig. 9 is a horizontal section on line 9-9 of Fig. 8, illustrating amodified structure suitable for manufacturing out of sheet metal. 20

Fig. 10 is a vertical section on line I0l0 of Fig. 11, and

Fig. 11 is a horizontal section on line |l-Il of Fig. 10, showing a moresimplified construction to be made of sheet metal.

Throughout the drawings like reference characters indicate like parts.

Referring to the molded structure illustrated in Figs. 1 to '7, thecasing is composed of a back section I provided with lugs 2, 2, by whichit may be screwed to the surface of a wall and a front section 3 whichis fastened to the rear section by screws 4, 4. Preferably the frontsection is formed with a flange 5 overlapping the rear section andengaging the complementary, oppositely extending flange or rib 55 formedon the latter (see Fig. 4) so as to form a more watertight joint toprevent water entering if it is sprayed upon the casing from a hose. 6is a door hinged to the front casing at its lower end 49 as shown at I,and provided with a projecting rib 8 along its inner surface which willfit into a corresponding groove in in the cake of soap 9 provided foruse in this casing. 23 is a continuation of rib 8 fastened to the frontof the casing below the doorway so that when the door'is closed 8 and 23will form a continuous rib nested in the groove I0. I prefer to hingethe door at its lower end for two reasons: Because it then will staywide open without employment of a catch, and 50 also because when open,it gives free access to, and full view of, the casing interior, therebyfacilitating the removal of the remains of a nearly used-up cake and theinsertion of a new one.

In the lower portion of the casing any desired form of rotary cutters orshredders l9 may be installed on the horizontally extending shaft; 20journalled in the semicircular recesses 22, 22, in the meeting faces ofthe two casing sections and rotated by the exterior hand crank 2|. Theunderlapping portion of each rib 55, serving to form part of the lowerwall of a journal-bearingrecess 22, affords a smooth, continuous bearingsurface extending beyond a vertical plane passing through the axis ofcutter-journal 26 thereby forming a crescent-shaped pocket in which saidjournal may nest without exerting any wedging action thereon, such asmight otherwise tend to separate the two casing sections. The plane ofdivision between the two portions of the journal bearing being vertical,however, the cutter drops out easily, when the casing sections areseparated.

To force the soap down upon the rotary cutter I employ a sliding memberH which I call a feed pan which is provided on its upper surface withguide blocks l2, l2, sliding in grooves i 3, 13, in the side faces ofthe casing interior, and other guide blocks 62, 62, bearing on thecasing back walls 63, 63. This pan II has a notch 29 in its edgeenabling it to be slid down along the rib 8. The pan has a rearextension I4 which projects into the rear extension 48 of the casing andis there connected to the tension spring i 5, the lower end of which isanchored to the casing base at 16. A guide plate 28 is fastened to theback of the pan extension i4 and slides up and down along the edges ofthe walls of the casing extension 48. A horizontal projection I! fromthe pan extends through the slot 50 in the casing far enough to have itsend visible from the front of the apparatus, as indicated in Fig. l.

The lower portion of the casing containing the rotary cutters l9 hasundercut portions 24 through which the extreme outer ends of the helicalcutters may move, thus ensuring even cutting action along the entireunder surface of the soap cake 9.

As the slot 50 would permit the entrance of water to the interior of thecasing I may use a thin flag or telltale 21 shown in Figs. 6 and 7 and.provide the slot 50 with flexible strips 26, 26, of rubber or similarmaterial projecting from either side of the slot and normally meetingbut yielding to permit the movement of the flag 2'! downward betweenthem as the cake of soap is slowly consumed. I8 is any convenient formof lock for the door 6.

In the operation of this form of the invention the door 6 is opened forinsertion of a cake of soap and the feed pan ll lifted by grasping theback guide plate 28 and pulling up on it. When the cake is in theposition shown in Fig. 1 the feed pan is released and is pulled by thespring I5 into contact with the upper end of the cake. The door is thenclosed and locked and thereafter users on rotating the crank 2| willcause very finely shredded soap to be discharged through the loweropening 30.

The casing being made of proper moldable mat-erial of waterproofcharacter will not rust and requires no painting nor enameling, such asanyone of the well known phenol condensation products. Furthermore it ismoisture-proof and protects the soap and the metal cutters from waterwhen the exterior of the casing is being cleaned. If any part needsrepairing or adjustment in the interior, the front section 3 can betaken off, thereby allowing the cutters to be removed and replaced. Bysupplying a special brand of soap with groove 10 cut in each cake,

the vender of the casing may control the sale of soap for use in theapparatus, because any cake of soap not having this special groove willbe prevented by the rib section 23 from slipping down to a bearing onthe rotary cutters and of course the doors can not be closed unless acake of the proper shape is used.

The modification shown in Figs. 8 and 9 is designed to meet the demandfor a cheaper apparatus, as it can be made of stamped metal such asstainless steel, and requires no lock. The casing generally indicated by3| has a rear extenslon inwhich the spring I5 is housed as before andconnected to the rear extension 44 of the feed pan 4|. The back guideplate 43 is fastened to the block 42, the parts being held together byscrews 34. The flag or telltale arm 47 extends out through slot 43 so asto be visible from the front of the casing. The rotary cutters are againindicated at [9.

In this modification the soap holder comprises a sleeve 36 hinged to themain casing 3| at 31 and swinging outwardly when grasped by the knob 39,as indicated in broken lines in Fig. 8. This soap holding sleeve swingsin the opening 33 in the front of the casing 3|, and when in verticalposition is flush therewith. It may be formed out of a single sheet ofmetal by bending it into the shape shown in Fig. 9 with the rear flanges38, 38, separated by a slot 40 through which the feed pan 4| may projectto the interior of the sleeve. The sleeve is open at the top and bottomso that the feed pan 4| may be lifted up far enough to nearly clear itsupper end, and when the pan is in this position, or approximates it, thesleeve can be swung out into the broken line position shown in Fig. 8and the cake of soap 39 inserted by hand far enough so that it will notinterfere with the sleeve holder being swung back into normal position,but will thereupon drop down behind the sill 35 of the casing openinginto the position shown in full lines in Fig. 8, locking the holder inclosed position so that it will be impossible to open the case until somuch of the cake of soap has been cut away that its upper.

end has sunk below the lower end of the sleeve 36. Then the sleeve canbe swung outward, the small remaining section of the soap removed and anew cake inserted.

A still cheaper form of the invention is shown in Figs. 10 and 11 wherethe casing 5| has an upwardly projecting back plate 60 and a lowerportion forming a receptacle for the rotary cutters [9. Lugs 52, 52, areprovided for attaching it to the wall as before. The soap holder againconsists of a metal sleeve indicated at 56, but this is closed at thetop 58 and hinged to the rear portion of the casing at 51. The feed pan6| is wholly enclosed in the sleeve 56 with a projection 61 extendingthrough the side slot 63 and constituting a flag or telltale as before.The feed pan is forced down by the compression spring 69 confinedbetween it and the top 58 of the sleeve 56. A spring 59 may be mountedon the back section 60, normally forcing the hinged sleeve 56 outward.When the sleeve is swung out into the broken line position a cake ofsoap is again inserted through the lower end and the sleeve swung backinto vertical position so that the lower end of the cake can drop belowthe sill, as before, and thereby lock the parts in position until thesoap has been nearly all consumed. If it is desired to use up the entirecake, a swinging button 53, pivoted at 54, may be used to maintain theholder 56 in closed position.

Among the advantages of the invention may be noted the finely and evenlydivided condition of the soap powder delivered by it, the praticallycomplete consumption of each cake so that no waste occurs, ease ofaccess to all parts for replacement or repairs, automatic action of manyfeatures and low cost of construction.

Various changes in details of construction other than those shown couldbe made without departing from the broader principles of inventiontherein embodied and defined in the appended claims.

- The embodiments of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 9 present anespecially advantageous feature in that a long tension spring 15 can besubstituted for the short compression spring usually employed inapparatus of this type and this without adding to the height of thecasing, such increase in height being objectionable mainly because theapparatus must often be installed in positions where the vertical spaceis limited.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In an apparatus for dispensing pulverized soap and like materials thecombination of a closed casing having a rotary cutter in its lowerportion on which a cake of soap may rest, a spring pressed memberadapted to rest on such cake and force it down against said cutter and alateral projection from said member extending through a slot in saidcasing and beyond one side wall thereof so as to be visible from thefront of the apparatus, said casing having a rear extension of lesswidth than the main body (ht-rcof, in which extension the springpressure means is housed and said slot being formed in the wall of saidextension near its junction with the main casing body.

2. In dispensing apparatus for soap and like materials, the combination,with a casing having a cutting apparatus in its lower, open end and ahinged door closing an opening in its front, of a projecting rib on theinner face of such door extending lengthwise of the casing, and anextension of such rib mounted on the inner face of the casing adjacentsaid door; whereby, when the door is closed, a continuous rib isformedextending practically the entire length of the casing interior, and withwhich a properly grooved cake of soap may engage.

3. A combination such as defined in claim 2 in which said door is hingedat its lower end.

4. A structure such as defined in claim 2 combined with a feed panmounted to slide lengthwise of said casing interior and having a notchin one edge closely engaging said rib, and spring means normally forcingsaid pan toward said cutting apparatus.

5. In a dispensing apparatus for soap and like materials the combinationwith a vertically arranged casing having an open lower end and a soapcutting mechanism located therein, of a feed pan sliding lengthwise ofsaid casing interior, and a tension spring forcing said pan to ward saidcutting mechanism, said casing having a longitudinally extending rearextension into which a projection from said feed pan extends and inwhich said spring is housed.

6. A combination such as defined in claim 5 in which said rear casingextension has a longitudinally extending slot in one side wall and saidpan has a laterally extending finger projecting through said slot andserving to indicate the amount of soap remaining uncut in the casing atany time.

7. A dispensing apparatus for soap and like materials comprising thecombination of a vertically arranged casing having an opening at itslower end and a rotary cutter journalled over said opening, said casingbeing divided along a vertical plane into two sections provided withdetachable inter-connecting means, the rear section being also providedwith means for fastening to a wall surface, and said cutter beingjournalled in semi-circular recesses formed in the meeting edges of thecasing walls and registering one with the other, whereby on removingsaid front casing section said cutter will drop out for sharpening orrenewal, said front casing section being provided with a continuous,rearwardly projecting flange along its outer edge adapted to surround,and form a substantially watertight joint with, said rear section, thewalls of one of the recesses in said flanges projecting beyond thevertical plane passing through the axis of said cutter-journal; wherebya crescentshaped lower bearing section for such journal is providedwhich prevents any wedging action of the downwardly pressed journal,such as might otherwise tend to force apart the two casing sections.

GORDON VOORHIS.

